weekend recap

The snow and ice finally started to melt from Greenville, SC yesterday. It was almost 60 degrees outside, so it was dripping from every roof and tree, making it sound like a small, rushing stream around our house.

Snow in the South is a paradox of good and bad. We love the novelty-- yet the novelty also makes it a pain. We only had one day of "fun" snow, then it was just treacherous, debilitating ice that the city didn't seem to have the equipment or the know-how to deal with.

It seems like a town in the foothills would be better prepared for snow-- they only cleared it from a handful of roads and didn't clear that very well. It quickly turned to ice, which they didn't bother to sand. So, the roads remained like ice skating rinks for the better part of four days. I even slipped on the ice on our road and bruised my thigh (I'll spare you an image).

In the full scope, this is how it went:

The snow came early Monday morning, and by Thursday the grocery stores were practically out of food. I almost fought a lady for the last red bell pepper :)

We couldn't drive anywhere without seeing someone skidding over ice or spinning into a 360 off into a ditch. It was like Armageddon in Greenville. Even Starbuck's was closed until Thursday. Starbucks. Come on, really? Plus, the downside of business being shut down for days means bored employees end up imbibing during their heaped-up free time. One of them showed up on our doorstep wanting more gas for her car-- and smelling like an opened bottle of gin. Needless to say, we showed her to a safe place to wait for a ride.
It was all a little ridiculous.
 

Many others, however, embrace the snow in wondrous ways. All those in the city who own four-wheelers and golf carts road throughout the town in packs, enjoying the snow-covered parks, roads, and fields.

People circles around the golf courses at night with their carlights shining on the hills so children could sled.

It makes me wonder if Greenville DOES know how to handle snow-and-ice covered roads... but they choose the unplanned holiday instead. "Oh well," everyone says. "Snow day!" And next thing you know, responsible parents have morphed into children and career-oriented employees into sidewalk drunks. I love the energy of it all, but I'm very glad things are stabilizing in this celebratory little town.

We've enjoyed looking at Husband's favorite house across the street:

and my favorite house-- which happens to be most of them-- including these from my dog-walking route:

On Saturday, we went for a short flight with our neighbor to look at what was left of the snow. We may not  own a four-wheeler, but we DO have a neighbor-friend with a plane and pilot's license ;)

 I especially loved the view of the bare foothill forests and the shadows from the tall trees falling across the snow.

And of course the view of the lake-- with all the islands, inlets, and the banks plunging down into the depths of the water. It's fascinating to see the topographical formations of water and land from the aerial perspective. Oddly enough, on commercial flights I don't notice it as much. Probably because they fly too high to identify the world below.

As for the rest of our weekend, it included a perfect balance of socializing, rest, and learning.

We:

-Had dinner guests for Husband's famous, secret chowder (and they agreed: it's fame-worthy)

-Went for a run

-Went out to a Tapas joint with new friends (and Tapas make Husband very irritable! So little food...)

-Facilitated our Sunday School class on Luke 3. It was a fantastic marital experience. It made us research and plan together in a way we don't often experience. We had to get on the same page, research, reconvene, research more, then rendezvous again to organize. And after all that, the class participants were so smart and enthusiastic we barely had to say a word and only shared about a fourth of our research. A truly humbling and exciting experience.

Then we:

-Enjoyed French Press at our favorite brunch cafe while debriefing our Sunday School experience

-Took a long nap

-And took Khan to play at a local University. He hates the big seesaw, but Husband says it's good trust-discipline for him.

How was your weekend?